[straffordrt]

Hi, sorry for asking this question, seems to be a lot of discussion on the topic.  Love the looks of the iron head engine versus the UCE and have a beauty in my sights.  However, I will be using it to commute to work as well as weekend rides around the country side.  I can handle routine fixes and maintenance but am looking to reliably run it daily at 60-65 mph during my commute 30 mile, half of which is slower that that.  Will a well maintained iron head (looking at a 2007) hold up or should I loose some looks and go with the UCE?  Thanks--Ken

[ace.cafe]

60 should be okay.
65 should be limited to shorter bursts of a few minutes and then slow back dow to 60. Passing speeds can go as fast as you want, as long as you slow back down to 60 after passing.

65 is too fast to maintain for long cruising times on a stock Iron Barrel engine. But you can do 65 for short times.

If you are asking if you can get on the interstate highway and sit on 65mph continuously without any variation for 15 minutes, it might do that okay, but I would advise against that, particularly in hot weather.  We can't predict exactly how long it will take for the piston to seize.

Modified Bullets can do better than stock ones for higher speeds.

[Vince]

     Every customer that ran the bike in a similar manner wound up with a moderate to severe engine issue SOON. Part of my deliver discussion was to tell them in no uncertain terms to STAY OFF THE FREEWAY and keep the bike to a 50 MPH AVERAGE. Any sustained constant speed/rpm is death sooner or later. Guys that listened to me have gone 30,000 miles with no problem. I made a lot of money off the rest.
     Get the new engine. The G5/B5/C5 is a great bike suited to your use.

[mrunderhill1975a]

FWIW, my experience on my '99 500, which has 25,556 miles on the clock without a rebuid or broken piston, I rarely run over 60 mph, generally I keep it under 55 mph.  Has never let me down, never stranded.

[AgentX]

Ace was very modest in not bringing up the fact that his company can perform work that will make the bike run much more reliably than stock under the conditions you describe, and a whole lot more.  (Adequate for use on the faster US freeways...) The UCE is a smidge better than the iron barrel out of the box, but an Ace "fireball" bike is another class entirely.

It's certainly not free, however.

[cyrusb]

In addition to the above, the vibration may or may not disassemble the bike as you ride. This will differ from bike to bike depending on how your engine went together at the factory. I personally restrict mine to 60 (and thats with a 19), because of vibration. It will tell you where it likes to run.

[straffordrt]

Thanks all--- with sadness, I will look away from the beautiful and look to a new bullet.  Hopefully will have most of the character I'm seeking--Ken

[AgentX]

IMHO, you're better off with a Fireball than a UCE.

[Chuck D]

Thanks all--- with sadness, I will look away from the beautiful and look to a new bullet.  Hopefully will have most of the character I'm seeking--Ken

"Character" is overrated.

[High On Octane]

IMHO, you're better off with a Fireball than a UCE.

+1

Thanks all--- with sadness, I will look away from the beautiful and look to a new bullet.  Hopefully will have most of the character I'm seeking--Ken

You have to give a bike character. 

[GreenMachine]

FWIW, my experience on my '99 500, which has 25,556 miles on the clock without a rebuid or broken piston, I rarely run over 60 mph, generally I keep it under 55 mph.  Has never let me down, never stranded.

That's good to know and that's the 4 speed model..

[solg]

"Character" is overrated.

Overrated, I agree. But, True character is hard to deny. Chuck,I've seen a few photos of your bike And must say THAT bike has character!( or am I confusing it with the word Class!

[guss,guss]

That's good to know and that's the 4 speed model..
[/quote]


  correct me if I'm wrong,   the 4 speed and the 5 speed have the same top gear ratio  1:1

[ace.cafe]

That's good to know and that's the 4 speed model..

  correct me if I'm wrong,   the 4 speed and the 5 speed have the same top gear ratio  1:1

True.

[Arizoni]

Seems to me like maybe a Lean Burn AVL might be worth considering.

It's engine did get a sleeved aluminum cylinder plus some of the bearings were redesigned to improve it.

Just a thought.